Intraocular lens delivery devices and methods of use

ABSTRACT

Intraocular lens delivery devices and methods of use.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/728,824, filed Jun. 2, 2015, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 14/163,794, filed Jan. 24, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No.9,044,317, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.13/180,427, filed Jul. 11, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,668,734, whichapplication claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.61/363,155, filed Jul. 9, 2010, all of which are incorporated herein byreference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

Intraocular lens delivery systems have been developed but have severalshortcomings. To implant an intraocular lens into an eye, an incisionneeds to be made in the eye to allow for passage of a delivery deviceand/or the intraocular lens. In general, it is desirable to make theincision is small as possible to cause the least amount of damage to theeye and shorten the healing process. Depending on the configurationand/or size of the intraocular lens, some intraocular lenses need to bedeformed, sometimes controllably, into a smaller delivery profile sothey will fit through the incision and into the eye. Delivery devicesand/or systems are needed that can controllably deform or alter theconfiguration or orientation of the intraocular lens for deliverythrough an incision in an eye.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

One aspect of the disclosure is an intraocular lens delivery system,comprising a delivery device with a port therein adapted to receive acartridge; and a cartridge adapted to receive an intraocular lenstherein, the cartridge having a leading haptic receiving area and atrailing haptic receiving area. The port can be a side port, and thedelivery device can further comprise a positioning element to align thecartridge and delivery device at a predetermined position.

In some embodiments the cartridge comprises a channel adapted to be incommunication with a channel within the delivery device. The cartridgecan include an optic receiving area, and wherein the delivery devicechannel, the cartridge channel, and the optic receiving area are all influid communication.

In some embodiments the delivery device includes a first actuatoradapted to load an intraocular lens into a distal loading portion of thedelivery device, and a second actuator adapted to control a seconddelivery element to deploy the intraocular lens from the distal loadingportion.

One aspect of the disclosure is a cartridge adapted to receive anintraocular lens therein, comprising a first portion with an opticreceiving area, a leading haptic receiving area, and a trailing hapticreceiving area; and a second portion coupled to the first portion andadapted to be in open and closed positions relative to the firstportion.

In some embodiments the second portion has a complimentary optic portionreceiving area, a leading haptic receiving area, and a trailing hapticreceiving area. The first portion and second portion can be coupled at ahinge. In some embodiments the leading haptic receiving area is distalto the optic receiving area. In some embodiments the trailing hapticreceiving area is disposed to the side of the optic receiving area. Insome embodiments the cartridge further comprises a channel incommunication with the optic receiving area. The channel can be disposedproximal to the optic receiving area.

One aspect of the disclosure is a delivery device adapted to deliver anintraocular lens, comprising an elongate body with a lumen therein; aplunger disposed within the elongate body and adapted to move axiallywith respect to the elongate body; and an actuator adapted to prime afluid delivery assembly and dispense a fluid through a fluid channelwithin the elongate body.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

All publications and patent applications mentioned in this specificationare herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if eachindividual publication or patent application was specifically andindividually indicated to be incorporated by reference.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A better understanding of the features and advantages of the presentdisclosure will be obtained by reference to the following detaileddescription that sets forth illustrative embodiments, in which theprinciples of the disclosure are utilized, and the accompanying drawingsof which:

FIGS. 1A-1C illustrate an exemplary delivery system including a deliverydevice and cartridge.

FIGS. 2A-2C illustrate an exemplary cartridge and intraocular lens.

FIGS. 3A-3E illustrate an exemplary method of delivering an intraocularlens using the delivery device and cartridge.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One aspect of the disclosure is a delivery system including a deliverydevice adapted to receive a cartridge therein. The cartridge is adaptedto receive an intraocular lens. In use, the delivery system delivers theintraocular lens from the cartridge and the delivery device and into aneye.

FIGS. 1A-1C show an exemplary system including delivery device 10 andcartridge 20 disposed therein. An intraocular lens is not show in thecartridge for clarity, and a variety of intraocular lenses could be usedwith the systems herein. Delivery device 10 includes elongate body 11extending between proximal portion 22 and distal portion 16. Elongatebody 11 is adapted to receive plunger 12 therein, such that devicefunctions similarly to a syringe. Elongate body 11 includes a portextending therethrough, adapted to receive cartridge 20. Device 10 alsoincludes first actuator 14 and second actuator 18, the latter in theform of a trigger. Distal portion 16 is in the form of a nozzle with adistal port from which the intraocular lens is deployed. In thisembodiment the distal port has a beveled end. Distal portion 16 is alsotapered towards the distal end. The cross section at the distal end isgenerally elliptical. FIGS. 1B and 1C show side view and bottom views,respectively, of cartridge 20 disposed within device 10.

FIG. 2A illustrates cartridge 20 in an open configuration and adapted toreceive an intraocular lens therein. Cartridge 20 is hinged with a firstportion 32 and a second portion 34 coupled by any type of hinge 36(e.g., a living hinge). Cartridge 20 has been formed with an intraocularlens receiving area, which includes an optic portion receiving area 38,leading haptic receiving area 40, and trailing haptic receiving area 42.In some embodiments the cartridge is molded with these areas formedtherein. Cartridge also includes channel 56 disposed proximal to thelens receiving area, adapted to receive a portion of delivery system, afluid, etc., therethrough.

FIG. 2B shows an exemplary intraocular lens disposed within cartridge20. In this embodiment, intraocular lens includes an optic portion 50and haptics 52 and 54. Optic 50 has been positioned within opticreceiving area 38, haptic 54 has been positioned within leading hapticreceiving area 40, and haptic 52 has been positioned within trailinghaptic receiving area 42. Haptic 54 is disposed distal to the optic 50,while haptic 52 is positioned generally to the side of optic 50, butcould be disposed in any position relative to the optic. For example,haptic 52 could be positioned in a more trailing position if hapticreceiving area 42 were formed in such a position.

In this exemplary embodiment, the intraocular lens is a fluid-drivenintraocular lens, such as is described in US 2008/0306588, filed Jul.22, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,328,869, the disclosure of which isincorporated by reference herein. Optic portion 50 is in fluidcommunication with haptics 52 and 54. Fluid distribution during deliveryand other methods of use that can be incorporated into the systemsherein can be found in US 2009/0030425, filed Jul. 23, 2008, thedisclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.

In FIG. 2C, first portion 32 has been closed relative to second portion34 such that the cartridge is in a closed position, ready to bepositioned within delivery device 10. When portion 32 is closed, some ofthe fluid within the lens may be slightly redistributed within the lens,or it may not be.

FIG. 3A illustrates cartridge 20 with an intraocular lens disposedtherein, and delivery device 10, including port 66 adapted to receivecartridge 20 therethrough. Device 10 also includes positioning element68 adapted to maintain cartridge 20 at a predetermined position withrespect to port 66. The positioning element 68 is positioned to align achannel within device 10 with channel 56 in cartridge 20. This allows afluid, a portion of delivery device, etc., to be advanced through thedelivery device and the cartridge to deploy the intraocular lens, asdescribed below.

FIG. 3B shows cartridge 20 advanced through port 66 (which could also bea top port or bottom port) and engaging positioning element 68.

Actuator 70 is then retracted in the proximal direction (“P”), whichactivates, or primes, fluid delivery. In FIG. 3D, actuator 18 in theform of a trigger is actuated, causing actuator 70 to be advancedforward, moving a fluid (or mechanical component) through channel 56 incartridge 20. This causes the intraocular lens to be advanced throughcartridge and loaded into the nozzle of device 10. As is it beingloaded, the haptics and/or optic are deformed into a deliveryconfiguration. Positioning the haptics as described with respect toFIGS. 2A-2C, the leading haptic is first loaded, followed by the optic,and then by the trailing haptic. This configuration eases the loading onthe lens. While actuation of actuator 18 can move a fluid through thesystem to load the lens, actuating actuator 18 can alternatively or inaddition to move a piston or plunger component that engages and pushesthe lens into the nozzle. The plunger can be adapted to engage theoptic, bypassing the trailing haptic.

In FIG. 3E, plunger 12 is advanced with respect to body 11 and withinbody 11, causing plunger 80 to be advanced relative to body 11 and tothe intraocular lens. This plunger is advanced until it engages with thelens and drives it out of the nozzle and into an eye.

Intraocular lenses with different configurations can be delivered withthe cartridges and delivery devices herein, as long as the cartridge isadapted to receive them. For example, the cartridge may need to bemolded in a different way to receive a different intraocular lens.

While preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been shownand described herein, it will be obvious to those skilled in the artthat such embodiments are provided by way of example only. Numerousvariations, changes, and substitutions will now occur to those skilledin the art without departing from the disclosure. It should beunderstood that various alternatives to the embodiments of thedisclosure described herein may be employed in practicing thedisclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of loading an intraocular lens,comprising: providing an intraocular lens comprising an optic portion, atrailing haptic, and a leading haptic; providing a delivery deviceadapted to receive a loading device; providing the loading devicecomprising an optic portion receiving area and a trailing hapticreceiving area, the trailing haptic receiving area extending laterallyaway from an axis passing through the optic portion receiving area;deforming the trailing haptic from an at-rest configuration when placingthe intraocular lens into the loading device so that a segment of thetrailing haptic curves circumferentially around the optic portion and aterminal end of the trailing haptic points away from the optic portion;and positioning the optic portion in the optic portion receiving areaand the deformed trailing haptic in the trailing haptic receiving area,wherein the trailing haptic and the leading haptic are simultaneouslydeformed into delivery configurations when the trailing haptic and theleading haptic are positioned within the loading device prior to theintraocular lens being advanced distally within the loading device. 2.The method of claim 1, further comprising advancing the intraocular lensdistally within the loading device, wherein the positioning step occursprior to advancing the intraocular lens distally.
 3. The method of claim2, wherein advancing the intraocular lens distally comprises advancing afluid through the loading device.
 4. The method of claim 2, whereinadvancing the intraocular lens distally comprises advancing a plungerthrough the loading device.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprisingdeforming the leading haptic from an at-rest configuration into adelivery configuration such that a terminal end of the leading hapticpoints away from the optic portion.
 6. The method of claim 5, furthercomprising positioning the leading haptic into a leading hapticreceiving area of the loading device.
 7. The method of claim 5, whereinthe leading haptic is positioned into the leading haptic receiving areaprior to positioning the trailing haptic into the trailing hapticreceiving area.
 8. The method of claim 6, wherein the leading hapticreceiving area comprises a tapered portion.